Surgical drapes are used to cover a patient during a surgical procedure in order to create and maintain a sterile environment about the surgical site. Surgical drapes commonly have an opening, also known as a “fenestration,” through which the surgical procedure is performed. An adhesive material may be attached to the periphery of the drape material so that the drape can be held in place around the surgical site and so that blood will not pass between the drape and the patient's body. It is often desirable that the surgical drapes are made with an absorbent material to absorb blood and other fluids during surgery.
Surgical drapes may be part of a surgical kit for a given procedure. The surgical kit contains medical instruments, devices, and other materials that will be used in the procedure. As a surgical kit, the medical devices, instruments, and other materials are provided to an end user, such as a surgeon, as prepackaged items. The user will use the contents of the kit as needed during the procedure. Often times, the medical devices and instruments comprising the kit are disposed after the procedure is done. Hence, the devices in the kit are supplied to users sterile and are typically intended for single use only.
An example of a procedure that makes use of a surgical kit is percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). PEG is an endoscopic procedure for placing a feeding tube into a stomach of a patient. Two techniques for performing the PEG procedure are the push technique and the pull technique. Accordingly, the contents of the PEG kits depend on the PEG technique being used.
A PEG kit may include: a silicone feeding tube, a wire guide if the push technique is being used, an insertion wire if the pull technique is being used, a syringe, at least one needle (preferably there are two needles—a 22 gauge needle and a 25 gauge needle), a scalpel, a needle cannula, lidocaine hydrochloride (e.g., Xylocaine® 1%), swab sticks (e.g., ChloraPrep® Triple Swabsticks), povidone ointment, water soluble lubricant, a bolster, at least one twist lock, at least one cable tie, scissors, a universal adapter, a bolus adapter, feeding adapters (if the kit is sold internationally), gauze pads, a surgical drape, and a cold snare.
The medical devices and instruments used in the PEG procedure may be received for use in the form of a PEG kit. An example of a PEG kit is Wilson-Cook Medical, Inc.'s PEG-24® kit. The PEG-24® kit is packaged in a thermoformed plastic container. A cover is attached to a lid of the thermoformed container using an adhesive material. The components of the PEG-24® kit located inside the thermoformed container are accessed by peeling the cover off of the lid.
The PEG-24® kit includes a prep tray that is made of a thermoplastic material. Securely fastened to the prep tray are a syringe, a twenty-two gauge needle, a twenty-five gauge needle, a scalpel, a needle cannula, and lidocaine hydrochloride (e.g., Xylocaine® 1%). Loosely placed atop the prep tray are a surgical drape, a wire guide (if the push technique is being used), the insertion wire (if the pull technique is being used), gauze pads, a cold snare, povidone iodine swabs, swab sticks, and water soluble lubricant. Packaged below the prep tray are a bolster kit and a feeding tube. The bolster kit includes a bolster, twist locks, a cable tie, scissors, a universal adapter, and a bolus adapter.
Generally, a surgical kit should be packaged to minimize the likelihood that the items in the kit become contaminated, lost, or damaged. Additionally, the surgical kit should be arranged such that during the procedure the components of the kit are as accessible as possible to a user needing to obtain them. That is, the end user, such as a surgeon, should be able to identify a desired item, obtain the item, and move the item to the surgical site as quickly and as easily as possible.